Oh, and, Teribus ("Now all those facets of the job are cost items that have to factored into the bids - You tell me which contractor is best placed to put in the most attractive bid in terms of cost; effectiveness; degree of comfort to the Client. My money would be on Contractor A."), you're still talking about BIDS. Choosing which bid to accept could involve all the factors you mentioned (and more).

My quarrel is with the idea of NO-bid contracts.   Seems to me the Bush administration has handed out quite a few of those.